


if I ask nicely?

by lionessliv



Series: Portal & Red - us, the Captain and the Winter Soldier [2]
Category: Captain America (Comics), Captain America (Movies), Captain America - All Media Types, Marvel, Marvel (Comics), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Dancing, F/M, Wedding Fluff, Weddings, a lot of glitter is involved, and it ends ultimately happy, and they get their faces painted, there are kids
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-01
Updated: 2019-02-01
Packaged: 2019-10-20 15:12:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,772
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17624753
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lionessliv/pseuds/lionessliv
Summary: Bucky finally gets married. Finally. Like, after a million years. But everyone is glad it happened. And Steve - yeah, what about him? There's this redhead who's good with kids and smart and funny and pretty heartbroken. What will this wedding hold for them?





	if I ask nicely?

**Author's Note:**

  * For [moon_raes](https://archiveofourown.org/users/moon_raes/gifts).



> This is something I wrote for my friend Rae (that's why it's her wedding). It's her birthday today and I finally finished it - congratulations you wonderful human being. I love you a lot and hope you have a fantastic day. ♥

The constant crashing of the waves, warm sand underneath, palm trees in the back, swaying softly in the breeze, cotton candy skies and, the sun shining down on the ground...

The scenery looked amazing and Steve's hands slipped into the pockets of his white suit while his gaze wandered over the palm trees in the distance. 

“It's a stunning location Raena chose for the wedding.”, Steve said and grinned at his best friend. Bucky stood next to him, nervously tapping from one foot to the other. 

He looked good in his white suit, the silver vest bringing out his metal arm. His hair was up in a bun, only a few strands had come loose in the wind. He nervously bit his lower lip but Steve placed his hand on his shoulder, pressing it gently. 

Bucky nodded but then his gaze switched back to the rows of chairs, all with a purple ribbon around the backrest, lined up under a little white tent, all facing them, standing in front of the pavilion, over which they had draped the same white fabric that made the tent for the guests. Purple lavender was interwoven and decorated the pavilion. The pastor, his name was Gerry, stood next to them. 

The guests had been arriving for the last twenty minutes and they had shuffled to find a seat and get their cameras out. A couple of kids were running around barefoot on the sand, nicely dressed in bow ties and dresses, nice shirts and Steve even spotted one kid in suspenders. 

Everyone was just waiting for the bride. 

And when she finally arrived, it was worth the wait. Her white lace dress swayed around her ankles, thin straps held it over her shoulders, all white. Her feet were barefoot and she wore bracelets of shells and pearls around her ankles. The braids of her hair were pinned up nicely and a few curls framed her face. Her make-up was discreet and Steve couldn't help but smile.

Her brother walked her down the aisle, chest pushed out with pride, a big grin on his face. Steve could feel Bucky stiffen up a bit next to him, but he looked like... Steve could not describe it. He just hoped that he would ever get the chance to look as happy as Bucky when he would get married. Someday. 

Raena's hands were wrapped around a purple bouquet of flowers and held onto them tightly, stopping her hands from shaking. She obviously was blinking too much and tried to hide her tears of joy from her soon-to-be-husband. 

As Raena’s brother, so to say, delivered her to Bucky, he shook Bucky's hand firmly and then kissed his sister on the cheek before taking his seat in the front row. 

Steve shot a look over at Raena's bridesmaid, a girl in a pale purple dress with a band of pearls and shells braided into her dark hair, similar to Raena's. The bride's brown curls were decorated by little starfish clips, seashells and glittering pearls. She beamed with happiness. 

While the ceremony went on, Steve watched the two. Raena looked as if she could hug the whole world. Bucky looked like he could not believe his luck. As they turned towards each other to say their vows it was as if the whole world around them stopped existing. They only had eyes for each other and their words were soft and quiet, only meant for the other one. Their kiss was passionate, no doubt. There was not an ounce of shame while Bucky pulled her closer and Raena buried her hands in the back of his vest.

And why would there be? 

All the complicated times that these two hand been through, all the rough patches in their relationship and they still managed to get along. Although they often fought, at the end of the day they were all they needed. Steve admired that about them.

He applauded the loudest while the two made their way through the cheering guests towards the beach bar where the party would be. Their hands held the other one’s tight and their smiles nearly didn’t fit their faces. People were throwing purple lavender blossoms and then followed the married couple to another tent, further away from the shore. Steve was first in line to congratulate them.

“We’ve made it, Steve”, Bucky whispered in his ear as he hugged him tightly. 

“No, you’ve made it, Buck. Just, look at her…”, he mumbled as a response and they both looked at Raena who got hugged by some friend. She still couldn’t help but smile. 

Bucky nodded and patted Steve on his shoulder, before he moved on to hug Raena. “Congratulations.”, he said and Raena chuckled. 

“We finally made it”, she said and Steve nodded. “Could you do me a favour, Steve? There’s someone who will play with the kids, do face painting and some crafting. She was supposed to be here before the ceremony ended, could you go and check if there’s a problem at the gate?” 

Steve nodded. “Sure, anything to help.”, he said and left the comforting shade of the tent. The breeze coming from the sea made it nice and cool, as long as you stayed out of the sun. The beach Raena and Bucky had chosen for their wedding was a private one. Tony had been so generous to rent it for the occasion, as a wedding gift. Steve imagined it difficult to get past Happy and the other bodyguards without a proper invitation. And that was what this girl was probably lacking.

As he arrived he saw Happy and a girl in a light blue dress, her ginger hair being gently blown out of her face, in an argument.  
“But I am supposed to be here. I am already late. You have to let me in.”, Steve could hear her say and then throw her hands in the air in exasperation. 

“Happy”, Steve said, as soon as he arrived next to them. “Raena sends me, I'm supposed to pick her up, I guess?” And with that Steve's blue eyes wandered curiously towards the redhead. ”I suppose you're here for…” 

But she didn't let him finish. “For the kids. I was hired by Raena. And I should have started ten minutes ago.” Her green eyes sparkled and dealing with Happy made her incredibly, well, unhappy. Steve could see her lips pressed together tightly, her right hand balling up into a fist and unclenching again. 

Happy shot her one last look. “Alright. Take her with you, Cap.”, he then said and stepped aside. 

“If you'd accompany me, I'll bring you right to the bride.”, Steve offered and before he could finish, she had grasped her basket and walked past him.

Her face still lingered on an angry expression for a couple of seconds before she sighed and her features softened. “Look, I'm sorry. Today is just not the greatest day and now I'm running late and I’m usually never late.”

“It's alright, Rae is too happy today to be, well, unhappy about that.” Wow, that was a creative thing to say?! He chuckled. “You'll be fine.” He paused. “I didn't catch your name, sorry. I'm Steve.” He stopped and held out his hand. The redhead stopped in her tracks and looked at him, her mouth hanging open a little. She was wearing a white dress with purple flowers on it. Steve spotted freckles on her shoulders. 

“Steve Rogers?”, she asked and he nodded, a tiny smile on his lips. This was only to cover how tiring it was to always be recognised, to always only ever be Captain America. 

But then something happened that he had rarely encountered, the last time with Raena, as Bucky had introduced her to him officially. The girl closed her mouth and lost the adoration. She cleared her throat and shook his hand with a friendly smile: “I'm Liv. Olivia Fuller. Nice to meet you.” Steve swallowed his surprise and gave her a warm smile. 

“Thanks for helping me out here. I bet I would have stood there for another hour if you hadn’t come to pick me up.” 

He buried his hands in the pockets of his suit and smiled. “No problem. Also, I think the kids can’t wait to see you and whatever you have in there to surprise them.” He looked at the big picnic basket she carried with her and suddenly her smile got wide.

“I love this job, and doing it for Rae, on her wedding day? Even better, nearly perfect.” She smiled all over her face and then suddenly her expression fell and her lips were a straight line again, showing little to no sign of emotion.

“Are you alright?”, Steve asked and frowned, but then Olivia smiled and nodded. He perked up an eyebrow but held his comment to himself. 

As they arrived at the tent, Raena and Bucky still received one hug after the other and had people congratulating them. But when Bucky turned around - it was weird, he always seemed to notice when Steve entered a room, just like it was back then, when Steve hadn’t had the serum injected and Bucky would always protect him - he nudged Raena carefully and she turned her head to see what this was about.

When she saw Olivia, a wide smile spread out on her face and she turned around to walk towards the redhead, but the other woman had already crossed the distance between them. She hugged the bride and Rae hugged her back. The two stood like that for at least a full minute, whispering words and giggling before looking at each other closely.

“You look so fantastic!”, Olivia exclaimed, taking special interest in Raena’s dress. She let the fabric run through her fingers and smiled absently. But then Steve seemed to notice the flicker again. A dark expression, just there for the blink of an eye, lingered on her face before it disappeared again.

“I’m so glad you could make it!”, Rae said and grinned widely. Then she turned to Bucky and took Olivia’s hand. “This is her, the wonderful, one and only Liv.”, she said and Steve swore Olivia blushed a little.

“Finally”, Bucky said and shook her hand. “I’ve heard so much about you already. It’s great to finally meet you. And thanks for helping out today.”

“Oh, I bet you have. And no worries, you’re most welcome.”, Olivia said and rubbed her neck. She seemed a tiny little bit uncomfortable and as Raena’s attention was drawn back to the last few people who still hadn’t congratulated her, Steve stepped forward.

“Do you need a corner to set up your…”, he eyed the basket, “stuff?”

A grateful smile spread out on Olivia’s face and she nodded. “Yes, that’d be good.” He led her through the large tent, crossing a dance floor and the buffet. Behind them, the ocean could be seen and heard. The constant crashing of the waves calmed Steve down.

“I think here should be alright?”, Steve said and turned around. They stood near the path back to the lavatories and the kitchens but still in sight of the round tables set up for dinner. The dance floor was to their left and so was the stage for the band.

“Do you need anything else?”, Steve asked as Liv put down the basket and started to open it. 

“Oh”, she said and looked up as if she had forgotten that he was there. “Two chairs would be nice?”, she asked and Steve nodded. A few minutes later he was back, carrying two chairs. Meanwhile Olivia had put a blanket on the floor, big enough for at least four kids to sit on, a staple of books on one side, a couple of sand toys on the other. She was just unpacking a couple of face paints and brushes. 

“This looks like fun?”, Steve said and put the chairs down. 

“Oh I am terribly sorry but I doubt the groom’s best man is allowed to have his face painted. Especially not if he wants to make an impression on the ladies.”, she answered cheerfully and then suddenly clasped her hand in front of her mouth, looking at him in shock. “I… I am so sorry. I shouldn’t have said that.” 

Steve still grinned: “No, it’s alright, that was great!”, he said and shrugged. “I mean, you may be right. And with a beard like that it might be hard to find any space left in my face to paint anyways.” 

Liv smiled at him but before either of them could say a word, they heard to all too familiar sound of someone gently knocking a spoon against a glass to get the attention of everyone. Steve’s head perked around only to see that everyone had taken their place and the newlyweds stood near the dance floor, ready to make their first announcement.

“I should probably go”, Steve said and shrugged apologetically before he left to take his seat.

“We’re so happy”, Bucky said just as he sat down as quietly as possible, “that you’re all here to celebrate this day with us. Finally!” A couple of people chuckled. “For Rae and me it has been quite a long road to get here today, to finally be married to one another. But if this is the outcome, I might say every bump in the road, every retour was worth it.” 

Raena grinned at her husband and squeezed his hand, before returning her attention to the crowd. “We both miss people here today, but we know they’d be very proud of us. And although they’re not here, they still would want us to celebrate this day and enjoy life - because that’s how they lived as well and why not continue that legacy?” She raised her glass and people up and down the tables did so, too, including Steve. “To life itself, it should be celebrated.”, Bucky said and everyone repeated “To life!” before taking a sip of champagne. Then she leaned forward to light a candle. Steve could see that it had a poem on it and a few pictures. Bucky’s parents at their wedding day and Raena’s dad.

“As you may have noticed”, Raene said then, standing straight up again, facing the crowd, “we set up a guest book, but it’s not just for you to write in it. There also is a polaroid camera and we kindly ask you to take a picture and glue it in, so we never forget how lovely you all looked today.”, while pointing towards the outer area.

Cheers and laughter could be heard through the crowd and Steve noticed how happy everyone looked - it was not only Bucky and Raena, it was everyone. Their happiness spread out over everyone attending. “Also, we have a big bottle prepared for you and if you have any messages and wishes for us, for our future, please write them down and put them the bottle.”

When they sat down again, people started to clap. Steve grinned at his best friend and leaned back. He took a moment to take in the whole scene. 

Fairy lights were spread out underneath the baldachin, the tent that protected them from the sun, and around the posts that held it up. On the white table cloths, spread out all over the tables, lay self-made candy that looked like sea glass, in all shades of purple and blue imaginable. There were white candles and bouquets of lavender and roses, all held in a soft, bright purple and white. Shells decorated the tables as well and big candles were positioned around the posts. 

While he was observing the guests chatting and waiters serving coffee and tea, his gaze fell upon Olivia. She sat in her corner and prepared the face paint. As if she had noticed him staring, she looked up and shot him a smile. It was a pretty smile and it threw Steve off a bit. He needed longer than usual to smile back and when he finally made his mouth do what he wanted his brain to do, Olivia was already busy again, as one of the kids ran up to her and started a conversation, gesturing towards the books.

Steve sighed and turned towards Bucky. A waitress put a plate with tiny purple cupcakes on the table and closer to the kitchen Steve could see two other waiters rolling in the cake.

It was a beautiful three-story cake, white icing and decorative purple shells. “Oooh”s and “aah”s could be heard from the guests as Bucky reached for Rae’s hand and they made their way to cut the cake together. 

After everyone had had a piece of the wedding cake, people started to take the first pictures with the polaroid camera and Steve also saw Rae’s mother place the first message in the bottle, writing down good wishes for her daughter and her new son-in-law. 

Bucky and Raena themselves, sitting next to each other, whispering with the other, getting occasionally visited by children who had the most fantastic face paint Steve had ever seen, being photographed and chatted with guests, radiated such happiness that Steve felt his heart ache from the love he saw. 

He wished he could have something similar in his life as well.

“Oh I love how she does it”, he heard Raena say and reality had him again. Steve looked at the kid, it was the one with the suspenders, who had a full face-paint. It was a Spider Man mask. 

Steve chuckled. “Peter would love it, what do you think, Buck?” Bucky sighed as Steve mentioned the kid from Queens. They had never got along too well, but Steve found that the kid in the suspenders looked just like Peter when he ran off, pretending to shoot webs from his wrists.

“They will look great on the pictures.”, Bucky said and Raena nodded. Steve looked over to Olivia, who was reading a story to a couple of kids sitting on her blanket, their mouths hanging open.

“She’s a great story teller.”, Raena said. She was suddenly standing behind Steve, following his gaze. “I’m glad she came. Her boyfriend of five years left her two days ago? She called me crying last night, reassuring me that she’d still be here.” 

He swallowed and nodded. “She’s a good friend then?” 

“The best.”, Raena mumbled, just as Bucky grabbed her hand and pulled her away, whispering something in her ear that made her giggle. Steve turned around again on his chair. Everyone was chatting happily with each other while the dinner was prepared. The kids had someone to play, the adults had alcohol and the band was just setting up. 

Dinner was served without severe incidents other than a couple of broken glasses. Steve suspected the bridesmaids-table but was never able to prove it. With a full stomach and the alcohol flowing, the atmosphere was even better than before. Bucky chatted with his wife, who laughed at his jokes and every now and then shot a glance at her wedding ring shining in the light of the candles. It would soon be time for his speech, he should prepare. 

Standing up, Steve crossed the room, not without being called to a few tables by some of Raena’s bridesmaids. Gesturing towards the lavatories, he shrugged and excused himself with a smile. The girls pouted, but he could imagine it would not be their last approach this evening.

The restrooms were connected to the kitchen, the only two real rooms in the airy wedding set up, by a corridor, light up by candles and even more fairy lights. He had prepared the speech ages ago. He knew it by heart. He was just making sure he had the right tempo, the right tone. Mumbling to himself he didn’t notice the woman coming out of the women’s restroom - and he ran straight into her. It was Olivia, who had glitter all over her light blue dress and some even in her hair.

“Oh, I’m terribly sorry.”, Steve said in the same moment Olivia said: “Ah, sorry!” Steve had held onto her but let go of her arms now. 

“Oh”, Olivia said and pointed at his shirt. “I was trying to get rid of a bit of it, but I think I infected you. Sorry again.” 

Frowning Steve looked down at his shirt, and true. There now was a lot more glitter on there now than there had been before, which made him smile. “It’s alright. It’ll make me shine even more for my big speech in a few minutes.”, he commented and she laughed.

“I’m sure it’ll help you get through it. If not, you need to hear this trick.”, she looked around, as if someone would watch them, and then leaned in closer: “You need to pick one person. One person you know, you like, you can bear to look at for the time being. It helps. Look around every now and then, but always get back to that person. That way, you can ignore all the others. It’s a tip my..” And her voice broke.

Although it broke his heart, he smiled. “That’s a really good tip. I will make sure to remember it.” 

She caught herself quickly and nodded, a shy smile on her lips. Then she excused himself and walked back to her little kid’s corner where the children were waiting for her excitedly. Nothing was left of the sadness that had shone through her like a light when she had nearly mentioned, and here Steve was only guessing, her ex-boyfriend. She was picking up the book again, flicking through the pages, telling a story, using her whole body. Gesturing with her hands, pulling faces and leaning for- or backwards. 

“Steve, it’s time.”, a voice called him back to reality and for the second time that evening he had found himself staring at a girl he’d only met. Bucky pulled his arm back towards the tables and he nodded. “I’m coming, I’m right here.”

“Ladies and gentlemen, it is my greatest pleasure to announce that this wedding finally happened.” Laughter. “I mean, it was a long and rough road, but we made it. They made it!” Everyone had their heads turned towards Steve. Nobody wanted to miss out on the speech given by the best man. 

“At some stages I thought we’d never make it. But here we are. Mr and Mrs James Buchanan Barnes, everyone.” The crowd cheered and raised their glasses. “But let’s be honest - I never thought Bucky would marry anyone. Back in the olden days, I thought we would end up getting married because we were inseparable.” Again, laughter.

And then he found her face. She stood in the door leading towards the kitchen and watched him. Steve couldn’t help but flash her a smile. And then suddenly her trick made sense. The rest of the speech, he never worried about where to look to, because he always had a safe spot to return to.

“When they met and Bucky told me about Raena, I thought: uh-oh, he’s found someone just as stubborn as himself. And he’s crazy about her. Rough times ahead. But let’s face it. Good things take their time and coal needs to be put under pressure to become a diamond and with some relationships it’s just the same.” He looked at Olivia again, who wiped her eyes and he instantly felt bad. But this needed to wait. He had one more line to say: “Without any further ado, please raise your glasses for Mr and Mrs Barnes and prepare for their official first dance.” 

“Hear, hear!” Everyone toasted towards the table where Bucky and Raena were sitting, just as the band got on stage and did some last minute tuning on the bass and the guitar. Accompanied by applause Bucky and Rae got up and made their way to the dancefloor. 

The band started playing slowly as Bucky places his hand around Rae’s waist and they started dancing to a song called Amazed. The lyrics fit the scene perfectly. Above them, the sky had turned black and stars were shining through the baldachin and the moon hung over the ocean in a white sickle. 

Everything was perfect.

Steve sidestepped around the bridesmaids and made his way to the kid’s corner. Olivia stood there, arms crossed before her chest, watching bride and groom kissing each other as the song ended. Everyone applauded and the dance floor quickly became crowded. 

“Hey”, Steve said and suddenly felt like an idiot. “Eh, your tip helped me get through the speech. It was really useful.”

“Well”, she said and looked at him. Her eyes looked tired, but she smiled, “you chose a great target, so of course it went well.” She winked at him and the both laughed. She loosened her arms up and leaned on the door frame. “It was a really good speech though.” This time, her smile was genuine. 

“Thank you”, Steve said and also turned towards the dance floor. “So, what do you think, how much longer will you have to hold out here in the kid’s corner?”

“Oh, not much longer I think. Two of the kids are asleep already, two others are running around outside, high on sugar and don’t tell Rae, but one of the little girls has puked all over her dress and now needs to be taken home by her dad.” 

Steve chuckled. “Means you’re basically free?”

“Yeah, why?”

“Dance with me.”, he said and held out his hand, indicating a little bow. 

The emotions on Olivia’s face were hard to read because she went from surprised to flattered and then shut them all out, her face being a blank mask.

“I am sorry, Steve. I can’t.”, she said and crossed her arms again. Steve lowered his hand. He now could see more glitter on her dress and a little bit of colour on the hem of her dress. It looked like the Spider Man blue. 

“Ah, come on. Rae told me what-”

“Good. And did she also tell you that I don’t need no pity from anyone? I’m fine.”, the last word only was a hiss and as soon as she had said it, her mask broke and Steve saw all the sadness, all the heartbreak that she carried around with herself. He didn’t meant to insult or hurt her.

“And… if I ask nicely?”, he said again and caught her eyes. “This is not me pitying you and I am sorry if I came off as rude or belittled your experiences, your feelings. I just… want you to have a good night. To have some fun. To dance with me and forget about idiots and puking kids for a while. After all, we could all do with some happy memories when times get bad again, mh?”

He looked at her and she seemed to understand. She seemed to fathom what he meant when he said it - that it wasn’t only about her. That he’d been through similar situations already.

“Alright”, she said and took his hand. “Let’s make some good memories for when times get tough again.” 

And they did. 

They danced practically the whole evening, laughing and spinning around, overwhelmed by the sheer presence of the other and the endorphins their company seemed to spark in them. They talked and sung along to silly songs, chatted and laughed some more. It was easy being around her. Steve had a definitely made a couple of good memories to hold on to. 

They were sitting in the sand, watching the waves kiss the shore, again and again and again. The moon was hiding behind white clouds and the stars were trying their best to shine through the clouds that started to cover up the night sky. Olivia was wearing Steve’s jacket, a glass in her hand. It was late and she yawned.

“I should get going”, she said and Steve blinked confused. He did not want her to leave, but the second this thought crossed his mind he knew that he had to - if he wanted to see her again.

“It was a lovely night, thanks, Steve.”, she said and kissed him on the cheek. “I will simply take the jacket with me and you can come and pick it up tomorrow. Maybe I’ll be able to paint your face then, since we haven’t gotten around to do it today.” 

“I’d love to.”, Steve grinned widely and then watched her leave, his heart full of a night he wouldn’t forget that quickly.


End file.
